Remington Outfitters Bill Remington, owner/operator of Remington Outfitters, has been lucky enough to live and breathe whitetails in Buffalo County, Wisconsin his entire life. This county alone has been said to produce more Pope and Young whitetail entries per square mile year after year than any other county in the world. I wouldn’t doubt it for one second. At age 12, Bill was climbing the limbs of any tree that he could hoist himself into and wait in ambush near a heavily used trail with longbow in hand. Well, times have changed and so has Bill’s tactics. Food plots, manmade water ponds, trail cams and multiple stand locations are now all part of the process. Here is a closer look into Remington Outfitters:   To keep his deer from searching elsewhere for food, Bill runs more than 20 acres of food plots consisting of beans, clovers, oats, chickaree and corn. These plots are well maintained and have been situated in prime hunting locales. Bill and his head guide Scott Anderson have also created 15 ponds in various locations on the property to ensure that the deer have an ample water supply year-round. This makes for some great action during the early season when the weather is warm and during the rut when the bucks are chasing and forced to drink several times a day. Having more than 80 stand locations allow Bill and Scott to position clients in fresh spots for almost every sit. They also have numerous ground blinds situated on the edges of his food plots that are placed there nearly three months prior to the beginning of the season.   All of Remington Outfitters’ deer and turkey hunts are fully guided with lodging and meals included. Be sure to reserve early because prime dates will fill up fast. Contact: Remington Outfitters, Dept. PB, 459 Komro Court, Mondovi, WI 54755; (715) 926-5215; email: info@remingtonoutfitters. com; web: www.remingtonoutfitters.com.

Heat Of The Night
Three evenings later, I took a shot at an impressive eight-point near last light. We did not have the luxury of watching film footage to review my shot, but I knew that the shot was high. I searched for my arrow at the hit site, but to no avail. I found minimal blood, but I knew that the arrow had passed through--although not completely--because I saw it sticking out the other side of the buck as he high-tailed it toward the river that paralleled my stand location.

Being unsure of the shot, I backed out and planned on returning the next morning, even though I knew that there were coyotes in the area.

The choice was a hard one to make to say the least. Yes, I knew that there were coyotes in the area, but I was not sure if my shot was a fatal one. The guys back at camp and I thought of Tim's North Dakota experience and we put our heads together and decided it would be best not to disturb the area and come back the next morning. I would run the risk of having coyotes find the buck before I did, but I was not going to chance bumping the deer and losing what minimal blood sign that I had.

When I returned the next morning, the eight-point was dead less than 80 yards from my stand. My shot was definitely high, but the angle of the shot enabled me to penetrate both lungs. The coyotes didn't find him, but the heat from the early September night spoiled the majority of the meat.

Lessons Learned
I learned a few valuable lessons from my trip to North Dakota: If unsure about the hit, rethink the events that just unfolded as soon as the animal leaves your sight. I for one almost always second- guess myself after the shot, especially when I lose track of my main goal, the recovery.

If I am not using every piece of evidence to my advantage, I am only cheating myself. If I find stomach matter on the shaft of my arrow, I know that it is a gut-shot animal and I am most likely going to have to play the waiting game. If there are "bubbles" in the bright-red blood trail, I can almost be certain that I have penetrated at least one lung. And depending on the angle of the shot--which is a critical piece of information in any bowhunting situation--I may conclude that I got both lungs.

Also, if the weather is warm enough to spoil the meat, get back out there and start searching as soon as you feel that you have given the animal ample time to expire. If that time is 3 a.m., so be it. It is not worth ruining the meat just to get a couple extra hours of sleep.

Patience Pays
My next early season adventure of '05 took me to Remington Outfitters in Buffalo County. This early-fall hunt took place during late September through early October. Even though the highs were in the upper '70s and the moon was in full-effect, quality deer sightings were high.

On the third morning of my hunt, guide Bill Remington and I decided to hunt a transition zone on a ridge top right near a heavily used bedding area. Our plan was to intercept the deer coming to the bedding areas from their morning feeding patterns.

The plan worked and by 7:30 I had a heavy nine-point 15 yards in front of my stand. The problem was that the woods were still so green that when I first saw him I did not have a clean shot. I was at full draw for what seemed like an eternity when the bruiser took one last fatal step and I let my arrow fly through a small gap in the brush.